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Keep in mind that properly inflated tires will prolong the life of the wheels. Good quality ones can last you up to ten years, but only if they are properly inflated and frequently rotated. Aside from inflation and rotation, keeping the balance of your tires is another important task that you need to do as a car owner. If you bought your car brand new, you can rest assured that they are properly inflated and balanced. However, for previously owned cars, you may not have an idea about how old the tires are, and whether they are balanced or not.
The good news is that when you buy an entire set of new tires, you can have them balanced when installed on the rims. This is a must-do procedure because it is your safety which is at risk if you fail to balance out your tires.
Factors to Consider when Balancing Your Tires
To delve a bit deeper into the importance of balancing out your tires, here are a few factors to take into consideration:
- The vibration of the tires.
Remember that tires and rims are manufactured based on rigid standards. Despite this, small imperfections may still exist which can lead to weight differences, which later on result to unwanted vibrations. So how much vibration can your tires set actually do with? If your car is travelling at a speed of 60 miles per hour, this makes for about four revolutions per second. Each revolution creates a vibration so an hour's worth of travel equates to more than 14,000 revolutions for each tire.
Based on the number of hours that you are driving per week, just imagine how many revolutions the tires would be subject to! Add to this the fact that you can have a flat tire once your car goes through potholes, nails, gravel or some other nasty road debris. Your tires can be more capable of eliminating these road hazards by constantly rotating them and balancing them out.
- The frequency by which you are balancing out your car tires.
There's no one solid rule to follow when it comes to how often you should balance out your tires. But a good rule of thumb to follow is to rotate them every 6,000 miles. Make this a bit more frequent if you are always navigating through rough road conditions, or during winter when the tires are subject to being in contact with wet, slippery pavements.
As a driver, it is entirely your responsibility to ensure that your car is 100% road-worthy before you get behind the wheel. Taking care of your car tires is part of this responsibility, so always remember to balance them out regularly and ensure that they are properly inflated to prolong the life of your tires.
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